The Northern Stars arrived home in Auckland on Thursday still on a high from their upset win in Invercargill.
The Stars stunned the Southern Steel 56-53 in last night's elimination final to book their spot in Monday's decider against the Central Pulse.
They played like they had a point to prove and coach Kiri Wills confirmed that was due to the disappointment of last week.
"I think the naming of the Silver Ferns team did have something to do with the way we came out last night," Willso told Newshub.
Wills said they had talked about it after their match against the Steel last week and it provided them plenty of motivation for the match.
"We're a team with zero Silver Ferns, everybody had written us off, we're at the bottom of the heap, nobody's betting on us… we just wanted to basically stick it to the man and say 'hey, we are working just as hard as everybody else and we have earned our spot and we will try to go all the way'."
Nobody stuck it to the man like shooter Maia Wilson against the Steel.
She used the pain of her non-selection in the Ferns squad and turned it into motivation for an MVP performance.
"I guess it's never the nicest call to hear you haven't selected especially for a World Cup." Wilson told Newshub.
"It definitely is satisfying producing a performance that was probably my season's best so far."
But the 56-53 win was more than just personal show of defiance but a collective one as well.
A week ago they lost to the Steel by 17 goals. A year ago they were dead last on the table.
Midway through the second quarter last night they found themselves trailing by six.
But that collective resilience helped them fight back to lead by the end of the third quarter and from there they never looked back.
We literally started from the bottom and now we're in the final so that's our motto moving forward." Wilson said.
The Stars will travel to Wellington on Monday to take on the Central Pulse in the final.
It's a side they've never beaten - the closest they've come to winning in three years is a nine goal loss.
But after becoming the first side to beat the Steel at home since the ANZ Premiership's inception, Kayla Cullen sees no reason why they can’t make more history.
"If we can play like last night we can do anything" Cullen told Newshub.
"I'm pretty sure they'll be doing their homework" Wills added. And it's hard to imagine the Pulse won’t after their elimination final's performance.
Newshub.
